


Opening Your Heart

by nazangel



Series: Legacies Fix-its, Missing scenes and more [2]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas, Communication, Lizzie and Hope talk, Lizzie isn't that bad, Multi, People talk to Hope, mental health discussion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-23 04:48:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17676761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nazangel/pseuds/nazangel
Summary: Somewhere between Human Dragons and Zombies, Hope apparently became approachable enough for people to want to talk to her.ORThe one where people talk to Hope and she talks back.





	Opening Your Heart

Hope didn't know how it happened but somehow she had become the got to person for everybody when they wanted to rant or talk.

Her, the tribrid loner.

She hadn't thought much at first but then it had become ridiculous to the point where she had to notice.

The last straw was pacing in front of her right now. A very blonde last straw.

_Lizzie fucking Saltzman was pacing in front of her._

_How the hell did this happen?_

_XXX_

It had started with MG. Of course at that time she hadn't realized what had started. She had looked at it as an isolated incident.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

Hope looked up for what felt like the thousandth time to where MG was sitting opposite to her in the library. The young vampire had come to sit down just under half an hour ago.

With the nonstop tapping.

_Tap. Tap. Tap_

She had ignored it for this long, hoping he would just go away but no. He was still here, tapping away, interrupting her magic reading.

_Tap. Tap. Tap._

_'Oh for the love of...'_

"MG is there a reason you're trying to crack the table with your incessant vampire speed taping? Not to mention that horrendous sound you're producing," she asked him

"Well now that you ask, Lizzie looked really good this morning you know, and I'm really glad especially after the whole birthday fiasco with their bio mom,"

 _What the hell?_ she thought

"Umm..." is all she said out loud

"Yeah I agree, she walked in this morning and looked fabulously refreshed and I almost said it to Penelope but she's banned any and all Lizzie talk,"

"I'm not sure..."

"And well you see..." MG continued, completely ignoring her

_So this was going to be a one-sided conversation. Got it._

"She's also told all my other friends to not let me talk about Lizzie and none of them really like her,"

"Well-"

"But she's really not that bad, you know,"

At that MG looked at her expectantly, like she was supposed to  _say_  something about that.

Hope thought about rolling her eyes and him and leaving or telling him to run off but stopped herself. She was trying to be better with others and MG had never been anything then polite to her. One of the few people who hadn't whispered around her when she was revealed as a Mikaelson. He had a good heart and saw the good in people, even Lizzie Saltzman.

Also, she remembered her own ramblings about Landon to Emma and could at least sympathize a little. Being a teenager with a crush wasn't as easy as the movies showed.

So she sighed and decided to indulge him, "I'm sure Lizzie has some really admirable qualities,"

That sent him on another tangent. Something about Penelope's assessment being a little unfair cause  _Josie's not exactly a kid you know._ According to him, the twins had been like that for so long that Lizzie just considered it normal and  _Josie could speak and don't we all sometimes hurt people that we love._ People should try to help Lizzie understand.

And yeah, when he put it like that it almost made sense. Almost.

Ane wasn't that a disturbing thought.

Hope still didn't care much for Lizzie Saltzman though.

After another ten minutes, MG stood up and thanked her with a huge smile.

"You're a great listener. I don't know why anyone of us called you cold,"

He sped away, leaving Hope with an odd feeling in her chest.

It felt nice. And warm.

Hope shook the feeling away. She had magic to study. Aunt Freya was going to visiting and she wanted to show her some new things.

XXX

Hope didn't think much of it when Rafael found her. She was the one who had told him they could talk if he needed.

"Hey Hope," said Rafael, sliding beside her during dinner time.

Hope took out her headphones, "Raf, Hi,"

He nodded at her and picked at his food.

"Any particular reason you're not eating with your shadows today?"

"Jed's back," said Rafael

"Ah," said Hope, "Is he making you uncomfortable?"

"No, not really. He's been pretty quiet all things considered but things are a little tense. Jed had friends here and everyone knows exactly how I became Alpha. I'm worried that it may become a problem,"

Hope nodded and was trying to think up an appropriate response.

"When they beat me up for refusing to submit, I never wanted to do something like that and then I did something very much the same and-

Hope cut him off, "Actually it's not,"

Ralph raised his eyebrows.

"The same thing that is," said Hope.

"How so,"

"Look, you haven't read much of history but different packs have always had different ways of recruiting new members, some violent, some not. Sometimes there might be an ascension or 'hazing' after the new member had joined but that's not that common. However, one that's 99.99% consistent is that when a living Alpha is challenged by one person it is always through a show of strength. It comes from the times when physical strength was necessary to lead the pack and still a lot of packs like to live in woodsy areas so for some it's still true. Even my mom's acceptance as 'queen' was sort of violent, granted my father was involved. You'll learn about it,"

"It just doesn't seem right," said Rafael

"Look, you can debate these things as much as you want but your situation isn't about right and wrong. I don't really like how the school pack recruits wolves that don't want in but I've made a point not to interfere with them. As for the Alpha challenge, your wolves see it as normal. All you have to do is show that you're not scared of Jed and welcome him back in front of everybody. Have you had a pack meeting since he came back?"

"No, it's tomorrow,"

"Good then. Welcome him back at the start with an impromptu speech and maybe slip in who won that fight in a non-hostile way,"

"That's it?" said Rafael

"Should be enough. It's not like you guys have to worry about things like money and food and shelter. They just want someone they can trust to have their back. They trusted Jed because of his physical strength and his tendency to solve things quickly even if a little violently. Make sure they trust you because for the reason  _you_ want them to trust you,"

"You know for a loner tribrid, you're pretty good at giving advice in social situations,"

"I observe," she told him

"I wonder what would happen if you  _actually_ tried to participate," he said with mock horror

"Probably a revolution," she said chuckling,

"Seriously though Hope," said Rafael as they got up, "Thank you for listening,"

Hope felt a little tingle of warmth as she watched Rafael walk away.

She smiled. Maybe having friends wasn't that bad.

XXX

Hope's phone rang a few days after the disaster of a birthday party.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Unicorn,"

Hope practically leaped out of her bed at the familiar voice

"Oh My God Landon! How are you?"

"I'm good. I'm good. What about you?"

"I'm good too,"

"Good. Good. How have things been?"

It became apparent to Hope after a few seconds of conversation that Landon was avoiding talking about his time New Orleans and his mom. Deciding to let him broach the subject, she told him all about the past few days.

"Damn, Zombies huh? Guess I'm missing a few things here in New Orleans,"

"Speaking of, how are you finding it there?"

"It's pretty great actually, I've toured the city, got a job at a youth center, Vincent said I didn't have to but it keeps me busy and it's fun. I've been looking at some colleges in the city,"

"That's amazing Landon. I'm glad you and Vincent are getting along,"

"Yeah, I met a few other witches here. Someone mentioned a girl named Davina and how she was the wayward teenager Vincent was close to,"

"Well," said Hope, giggling, "She was a little more than a wayward teenager and so are you. She's actually my aunt now,"

"Cool, Cool,"

There was a little lull in the conversation before Landon spoke up again, in a rushed voice.

"I've been putting off searching for my mother,"

"Landon-"

"I know it's why you sent me here but Vincent said he would only do it if I was sure and to take a couple of days to think and then I got the job and I like it and I don't know if I'm ready for the dissap-"

"Whoa, Landon! Take a deep breath,"

She heard him exhale on the other end.

"Listen to me carefully Landon, this is your life, I know what it's like to want to understand your roots, and your parents, to want answers and closure which is why I gave you this chance but this is your life, Landon. You do what feels right to you. From what you said, you're doing pretty great and if you want to wait until you're a little more grounded, that's your choice,"

Landon waited for few minutes for replying softly, "I just want a life to fall back to in case I'm disappointed. Does that make sense?"

"Oh Landon," Hope said gently, "Of course it makes sense. I talked to Rafael the other day and he made me realize some things that I hadn't really thought about. All in all, whatever happens, you'll always have Raf,"

"And you?" asked Landon and of it wasn't for her werewolf hearing, she might not have heard the tremor in his voice through the phone.

It made her heart hurt.

"Of course Landon. Of course, you will and Landon?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't be afraid to lean on Vincent. He's a great person but he's not exactly one to put up a false front. If he didn't want you around you'd be out the door by now,"

"I thought it was because you asked for a favor,"

Hope laughed, "I asked him to help you find your mom, the rest of it was him,"

"Oh, so you would have been okay with him kicking me out the door if he hadn't liked me," he said, teasing

"Nah, I know Vincent and I know you. I knew he'd like you,"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah,"

There were a few moments of silence before Landon spoke up again, "So, uh, it's late. I better let you go. Vincent actually has a curfew for me,"

"Okay, bye Landon,"

"Bye,"

She was still smiling hard enough to hurt her cheeks when she got a text.

It was from Landon.

_Thanks so much for listening. I didn't realize how much I needed to talk to someone who would understand until I started to talk to you. You're a really good listener, you know. Good night again!_

She sent him a quick reply before dropping back into bed, clutching the phone close to her and squealing a little. She felt tingly and a little light headed but it was a good feeling. It was crazy how much hearing Landon's voice made her happy, it was still as soothing as she remembered. It made her feel insanely glad to know she'd made him feel better too. She really hoped they continued talking.

She went to sleep feeling giddy and dreaming of pretty green eyes.

It didn't occur to her until the morning, that she had once again been referred to as a 'good listener'

XXX

Josie found her the next morning at breakfast.

"Hey, you look cheerful," said Josie as she sat down

"Hmm," said Hope, hiding a smile behind her spoon.

Josie nudged her, "I never got to thank you for talisman so, thank you,"

"Your welcome and don't worry about it, I know you guys have had a hard few days,"

"Yeah, it's been a little bad but were much better now,"

Her brows were drawn together as she said it though, leading Hope to believe she wasn't as okay as she was letting show.

"Are you sure Josie? Is there anything else bothering you?"

Before she could answer, Raf stopped in front of them and sat down

"Hi. Sorry," said he told Josie, "I know things are a little weird but I wanted to talk to Hope here real quick,"

Josie raised her eyebrows at him. The Alpha looked between both of them before speaking again.

"Okay um you know what? I'll come back later, you guys just-" Raf looked ready to bolt before Josie stopped him

"No, Rafael wait. It's okay. This is about the new wolf isn't it?" said Josie

Rafael nodded and sighed, "I don't know what to do. The wolves want me to recruit Harley but he's pretty much avoiding the pack and I really don't want to do what Jed did with me,"

"Well there's two things, either he knew his family had a curse and is from a pack then it's complicated cause-,"

"Actually," said Josie, "His family had no idea. I don't know the specifics but I overheard my dad, he had no idea he had the curse or anything about the supernatural,"

"Okay in, that case, leave him a note in his room saying you want to meet. Make it friendly, invite him to have food with just you but make it public, maybe at dinner time here so there are other people around that way-,"

"Wait, a note?" said Josie

"He's running on new instinct. A lot of new wolves that don't want anything to do with the pack fall into two broad categories, those who stand up and those who avoid and flee,"

"Guess you were the first one," said Josie grinning at Raf

"Obviously it's a little more complicated than that but like I said, broad categories. Harley seems to be the latter, he's probably skittish and if he doesn't have anywhere to run, he'll lash out and that never ends well for anyone,"

"Okay, invite him to lunch or dinner and then what just invite him to the pack?"

Hope smiled, "Yeah, do it in a way that you would have wanted it to be introduced to you. Introduce him to some of the non-volatile and the most un-Jed like wolves of the pack so he doesn't feel too weird talking about how the curse manifested. Start with Jenny,"

"Okay. Okay. Make it friendly, keep it calm. I can do that. I can do that,"

Seeing that he was still a little jittery, Hope reached out and squeezed his wrist, "Yeah, you can do it, Raf,"

"Okay okay. You're right. I'll be fine," he stood, "Thank you, Hope. Landon was right, you're a great listener,"

Hope raised her eyebrows at him.

"He texted me, something you giving him the courage to finally contact or something," he gave her a knowing look before walking away

Hope found herself grinning again, not caring that she probably looked like a maniac. She turned to find Josie looking at her with a silly smile on her face and a knowing glint very similar to Rafael's.

"Oh, stop," said Hope, pushing her a little

"Hey, it's a good thing, you seem happy," said Josie, "At least one of us is,"

She sounded a little bitter, which really didn't sit well with Hope.

"Is everything alright?

Josie sighs, "It's okay, you don't have to hear this,"

There's a hitch in her voice and she sounded so much like Landon did last night, that Hope automatically reached out and grabbed her hand.

Josie looks up to Hope and she tries to tell Josie with her eyes that it's okay to talk to her, that she'll be here for whatever this is. Because Josie is her friend, even if Hope doesn't want to say it out loud yet.

Josie squeezed her hand and went into a rant about how nice it had been to talk to Jo and have her ask her questions, which Josie now realizes that no one has asked in a long time. Their mom is gone and their dad had never been one to talk about crushes. Then Jo was gone and there was the whole thing with Rafael and Lizzie and then Penelope's talk with her.  _Not everybody had to be selfish right?_

No, not everybody had to be selfish, but everyone should stand up for themselves. Hope didn't say it out loud though.

"And then I kissed her, I kissed her Hope, right after telling her I still hated her. What is wrong with me?"

Hope sat there a little stunned.

"What's wrong with me?" whispered Josie, repeating herself

Hope wracked her brain for something to say but then decided against it an just pulled Josie in for a hug.

Josie sniffled against her shoulder and squeezed her lightly. A few people still lingering in the hall gave them looks but Hope sent them each a glare, leading them to quickly scamper out of there.

When Josie pulled away, her eyes were a little red but she looked a little bit lighter.

"Feel a little better?" asked Hope

"Yeah," whispered Josie, "Raf was right, you're a good listener,"

This time Hope smiled wide, "Thanks,"

Josie curiously looked around at the nearly empty hall and then at the clock. She suddenly sprang from the chair.

"Oh my god, we are so late for class. Oh god, I have to go! Bye Hope!"

Hope laughed as she watched her go.

XXX

Penelope was drunk. She was very very drunk.

When Hope had come back to the school, she had traced out a territory for herself, a small clearing in the woods. Of course, she ran in all of the other places too when she turned but everyone one in the school had quickly realized that no one was allowed in Hope's territory, except for the few young primaries who didn't understand the whole thing.

They all warned each other and the newcomers so it had been a long time since anyone had stumbled there, even accidentally. Which was why she was surprised to find that someone was there, especially this late at night.

She was even more surprised to find that it was Penelope. A very drunk Penelope.

The other girl was leaning against the only tree in the clearing, bottle of  _something_ still in her hand.

"Uh Penelope?" said Hope, getting close to the girl, "What are you doing here?"

"Dunno, just walked and walked and ended up here,"

"Okaaay," said Hope, "Do you need help going back?"

"Don't wanna," she said looking clenching her hand. Over her head, a large branch broke. Hope stopped it before it could hit her.

This was bad. Young witches, no matter their control could still lose hold of their magic when drunk, especially when they were upset and drunk. It would probably be a good idea to let her calm down before taking her back into the dorms.

"Okay, okay," said Hope, "That's fine. You can sit down here for a while if you want,"

Penelope nodded and plopped straight down. The liquid in the bottle sloshing.

_Need to get that away from her._

Hope set down cross-legged in front of Penelope and slowly reached for the bottle, "Why don't you hand that over,"

Fortunately, Penelope easily loosened her grip on the bottle, allowing Hope to take it from her.

"So uh you wanna talk about it? Apparently, I'm a good listener. Who knew?"

Penelope kept staring at the grass. After a few minutes, Hope was about to give up in the other girl talking when Penelope spoke up.

"She hates me,"

It didn't take a genius to understand who Penelope was talking about.

"Well you did break her heart," said Hope

"What about my heart?" Whispered Penelope, "I was the one who got left alone on my birthday and valentines day because Lizzie Saltzman didn't have a date to the Valentine dance. It wasn't fair,"

"But then why do you keep bothering her Penelope? I get that Josie probably didn't have time for you if she was taking care of her sister all the time and you didn't want to be in a relationship like that but you broke up her and you're still not leaving her alone. Why?"

"Cause," She stuttered, "cause I still love her,"

And wasn't that just heartbreaking?

"Have you tried telling her that?"

"She doesn't want me, she likes someone else,"

Hope furrowed her brow, "Who? Rafael? Pretty sure that ship sailed once he slept with the evil twin,"

"No! Not Rafael," said Penelope, suddenly looking very angry

Another tree branch creaked on top of them

 _Damn it._ Hope quickly pulled shield around them.

"You," whispered Penelope

Confused Hope asked, "What?"

"She likes you, you idiot! For a straight A student you are so dumb,"

Hope laughed. She couldn't help. She knew it was cruel to do it in front of a girl who was already so heartbroken but what Penelope was suggesting was just...no, nope.

Right now, Penelope was looking at her with hurt in her eyes, on the verge of crying.

Still chuckling a little, Hope moved beside the other witch, gently leaning her shoulder against her.

"I know for a fact you're wrong witchy. Josie doesn't like me and I don't think she really hates you. I'm sure with some work you can still fix this.

"Really?" said Penelope, looking up at her like a child.

_Damn, she's adorable when drunk_

"Yes, really," said Hope, "Now let's get you to bed"

Hope took her inside as quietly as she could. The people they encountered did not say anything. No one wanted the combined wrath of the two to be on their heads.

She got a few glasses of water into the girl, helped her out of her sweater and left her with another glass of water and medicine with a note telling her to take it when she woke up.

Next day she got a note in the third period.

_Hey,_

_Thanks for the painkillers. And for listening to my drunken ramble. MG was right, you're good at it._

_However, if you tell anyone about yesterday, I will do something unspeakable to you._

_The witchiest witch,_

_Penelope Park._

Hope snorted and tucked the note away. It did create a feeling of unrest though.

XXX

The note kept bothering her for a while. Not the fact that it had been sent. The action was pretty normal.

_You're a great listener_

_You're a really good listener_

_MG was right._

_Landon was right, you're a great listener_

Not only was she apparently a good listener but other people we noticing it too and taking the time to talk about her with each other.

Of course, she knew that people talked about her behind her back. She was the miracle Mikaelson baby after all. However, those discussion has rarely been positive.

Now, people were telling her she was a good person to talk to? How had that happened?

It had to be a fluke.

She mentioned that much to Emma in their next session.

"Have you thought that maybe you always had the  _potential_ to be like this but it never showed because you refused to interact with others," said Emma, carefully taking a sip from her cup.

"So you're saying no one noticed before because I didn't let them,"

Emma nodded, "You've only recently started to be a little open with your peers, even made a few friends. And well, it's really not a surprise that your experiences make you a good person to talk to,"

"You mean the whole being possessed by an evil entity, being born a Mikaelson, a family of monsters?" she said sarcastically

Emma chuckled, "That too but was talking more about the fact that you are one of the few mature students here that have dealt personally with all species. Sure you could say that the teachers have too but at the end of the day, they are biased. Alaric has met a lot of creatures but he's human. Also, you're a student, kids don't want to talk to adults about their problems. As for, MG and Penelope-,"

Hope snorted.

"Okay, fine, Penelope doesn't count. She was drunk but is it hard to believe that MG might be grateful for you for listening to him. The boy is very open and kind. Also, thanking someone for getting them to their room safely is a very normal thing to do,"

"Yeah, I know but..."

"Tell me something, Hope? Are you happy with the turn of events?"

Hope thought about it, "Yeah, it's nice,"

"Then just maybe go with the flow,"

Hope nodded, "Go with the flow, I can do that,"

"Good," said Emma, "Is there anything else?"

"No," said Hope, "I'm good,"

"Then you should get to your class young lady," said Emma, shooing her away

Hope grabbed her books and waved goodbye to her.

XXX

Once she got to class MG and Rafael waved her over and Josie smiled at her across the room.

Hope smiled back.

Maybe going with the flow would easier tham she had anticipated.


End file.
